Some Things Come Made Gorgeous
by fangirl2048
Summary: Jason has, undoubtedly, never been more sick of his art history course as he aimlessly ambles around yet another interminable art gallery. Until he's is jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of a gorgeous young woman behind him, her brown hair unevenly chopped, feathers haphazardly braided in, rose petal earrings and handmade jewelry. But things aren't always what they seem. AU.


**-oOo-**

"Feel free to look around, guys," the guide said, smiling warmly, and the class scattered as students begin to wander off. Jason remained in his spot for a moment, watching as the kind-looking woman moved over to chat amicably with his professor, Mr Ashton.

Sighing, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and tiredly eyed the room. Granted, he did expect visits to countless art galleries to be part of his art history course; what he didn't exactly expect was for half of the galleries to have the same, kind-of-repetitive, now completely boring pieces hanging on the walls. He knew New York was famous for some of its art galleries, but seriously, the things you get tired of when you visit a place too many times. He had begun noting the smallest similarities- the ceaseless designs on the dull coloured thick carpets, the way too breezy atmosphere, the right amount of blinding white light. Okay, yes, the only reason he had signed to attend the trip was to be spared of the torture known as college for a whole day, and yes, okay, maybe to gloat to his roommates about that too. But even the thought of getting even with those idiots didn't help much.

Aimlessly, Jason began to amble around the atrium, hoping and praying that maybe a blessed coffee shop would pop up and he could maybe just grab a coffee and pretend to take forever drinking it.

Running a hand through his hair, Jason inwardly groaned as he caught sight of some of his classmates, who were enthusiastically oohing and aahing over a painting in the corner. Frustrated, he mumbled curses under his breath- they weren't leaving any time soon. He felt like banging his head against the wall, but the woman nearby with her child was already sending weird and slightly freaked out glances his way, so maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea. Even if it would get him kicked out.

Glancing back towards the painting, Jason was surprised to find the crowd of students still crowded around its place on the elegantly patterned walls. It was only after the guide ushered them away to show some sculpture (probably another Neptune taming his seahorse) did Jason allow the curiosity to overcome him, and he lingeringly moved towards the canvas.

The ability to move abruptly ripped from his body, his is mouth fell open in awe as he studied the canvas. It was a mixture of abstract and realism, surrealism and romanticism- a girl stood in front of a mirror, her body and face painted with warm strokes of yellows, oranges and maroons. A simple yet beautiful summer dress, covered in warm red roses. Her reflection though... It was different, dark, gloomy blues, purples, blacks. The roses on her dress black and wilting and tired. Her face was impassive, emotionless, but breathtakingly beautiful all the same. That wasn't what intrigued Jason the most though. What made him peer a little more closely and readjust his glasses on his nose was the little reflection in the corner of the mirror- you could make out it was a person, but that was about it. No tell-tale signs of gender, height, age, nothing- it could be anyone.

Jason's eyes widened as he realized the artist had done something truly sensational and thought evoking- you could see yourself in the mirror as you gazed at the painting, and yes, one of the most well-known elements of art was aiming to make your viewer feel emotionally and physically involved, but Jason had never seen that being executed as brilliantly as it had been in this painting. It was kind of freaky. He felt goosebumps rise along his skin.

He spun around when he heard a sound behind him, having been jolted out of his thoughts. A girl stood behind him, about his age, dressed in a flowing knee length skirt and an off shoulder brightly coloured shirt. Her eyes widened upon noticing that he was staring right at her, and she froze as if caught in the middle of doing something she shouldn't have. Cut unevenly, her brown hair had feathers haphazardly braided into them. Long earrings, seemingly made out of flower petals, hung down to her shoulders.

"Um," she stuttered, her voice unusually soft and high, a blush crawling onto her prominent cheekbones. She shifted uncomfortably. "Hi."

Jason's eyes automatically, uncontrollably flitted to the way her chocolate skin glinted in the white light when she shifted, too consumed in gazing in awe at the ever-changing, vivid colours in her eyes to answer immediately. "Oh, uh, hey," he said awkwardly, hurriedly, when her words sunk into his annoyingly grinding brain. "I'm Jason," he continued when the pause became too long, extending his hand.

The corner of her pink lip twitched slightly, as if wanting to break into a smile but resisting against it. Reaching out, she lightly shook his hand in her small one. Jason noticed the colourful string bracelets hanging loosely around her wrist. "Piper."

"Like the aircraft?" Jason half cried excitedly. There was a moment's pause, then his jaw dropped when he realized what had just slipped out. But instead of seeming offended like Jason expected any other woman to be, the girl simply chuckled.

"I am so sorry," he said, mortified, eyes still wide. "I- I didn't mean-"

"It's okay, not the first time," she said lightly, still smiling. At his horror, it seemed.

"No, but, I mean-" he stammered, "that's not how you're supposed to start a conversation with a pretty girl, I just-" He broke off again, eyes widening even further if that was possible. Groaning suddenly, he bought his hands up to his face. "I said that out loud, didn't I?" He moaned, seemingly in a lot of pain. Horrified, he dared to peek out between his fingers.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ears, the girl blushed furiously but passed him a shy smile. "Yeah, you kind of did."

Sighing deeply, Jason rubbed his hands down his face. "Can we start over?" He asked nervously. "Hi, I'm Jason Grace," he repeated firmly when she nodded.

"Hi Jason, I'm Piper."

"Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise. You're an art student, aren't you?" She asked curiously.

Jason grinned. "That obvious?"

"Besides the fact that you look like you've seen enough art galleries to last you three lifetimes, no, not at all."

"Sorry," Jason said, smiling sheepishly. Gesturing at the paintings around, he continued in a low voice, "After two years, they're all starting to look the same to me."

"Why come along, then?"

Laughing, Jason stuffed his hands into his pockets. Piper slid the strap of her purse higher onto her shoulder, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her triple pierced ears. "Couldn't resist the chance to rub it in my roommates faces that I got to escape classes for a day," he replied in explanation, shrugging. "What do you study?"

Pursing her lips, Piper's eyes suddenly flitted to the ground at her feet. Jason once again found himself unashamedly gazing at the kaleidoscopic irises, by far the most prominent feature on the girl, despite not being coated in eyeliner or mascara or whatever else girls always wore. She flushed uncomfortably. Shifted.

"Sorry," Jason immediately hurried on, noting her abrupt discomfort. At least there was _some_ use of Reyna's dragging, interminable lectures from her psychology class, Jason thought to himself, which were so disinteresting Jason felt as if they were created to help insomniacs. "I didn't mean to pry."

"Nah, it's okay." Smiling gently, she shifted her gaze back up to him. "I'm kind of on a... Gap year?"

Nodding in understanding, Jason struggled to not question why she sounded so uncertain. "So what's so interesting about boring art galleries that drags you here, then?"

"I came willingly, believe it or not," she responded, moving past him slowly to linger next to him. Shifting his light blue gaze back to stare at the intriguing canvas, Jason nodded hesitantly.

"Well, every once in a while, there's something that catches your attention." Unconsciously, he passed her a sideway glance, only to find her staring at his features intently. Noticing him, her pupils shifted back to focus at the soft, delicate brush strokes coating the cotton.

"What do you like about it?" She asked falteringly, refusing to meet his eyes again. Shy. Jason felt his heart wince. She was different, this girl- not like the usual women, coated in pounds of makeup and showing more skin than they hid. Her smooth skin coated with minimal makeup, her clothes simple and bright, her jewellery handmade instead of worth millions, to Jason she was multiple times more gorgeous than any of the plastic coated cheerleaders who adored lathering themselves over him.

Wait, what?

"Oh, um," Jason shook himself when he noticed Piper staring at him expectantly (and was that a bit of 'I'm-really-creeped-out-right-now-but-I'll-not-scream-because-I-feel-sorry-for-this-pitiful-boy' he saw in her vision too?), blinking furiously a few times. "Um, I really like that it's so... Thought evoking, I guess. It makes you think, not just cry and feel depressed like most of the stuff here." He paused, but she motioned for him to continue. Slowly, she twisted the ring hooked into her necklace laced around her neck, settled at her collarbone. "And it's just really intriguing, you know? You look at it, and you think, you're actually in that picture too, with that girl. I don't know what the girl is supposed to represent exactly though- maybe low self-esteem or confidence issues? Or maybe something deeper- I don't know, maybe she's actually all happy and bright and colourful but she sees herself as depressed? I guess that's why I like it too. It means multiple things, you know?" Jason internally cringed at his nervous rambling. It wasn't his first time talking to a girl, so seriously, why was he behaving like a middle school boy who had just been partnered with his crush for a project?

However, instead of fast walking away with a look of alarm slash disgust coating her features. Piper nodded thoughtfully. "I think it represents the darkness in you." There was a moment of silence as they both studied the painting. "The demons inside you, which only you can see. What you try to protect others from." Her voice faltered timidly, as if she had over spoken. To Jason though, the painting suddenly seemed a lot more interesting, her interpretation a lot more riveting, fascinating and enthralling than his.

"Who do you think made it?" He asked curiously. Piper shrugged, moving forward to study the right hand corner of the large canvas more closely.

"There's no name."

"An anonymous entry?"

"I guess so." Piper turned back to him, suddenly smiling. Jason noticed a content sparkle in her vibrant irises which wasn't there before.

"So where are you from, Piper?" Jason asked as they began to amble around the atrium. He was beginning to grow more and more curious about this girl.

"Well, I lived in California with my dad before moving alone to Manhattan with a friend of mine. I'm originally Cherokee though." She smiled, then her eyebrows suddenly furrowed as if puzzled. A cute look on her, Jason noted as his stomach twisted. He internally rolled his eyes at himself. "Speaking of a friend, he should be around here..." She looked around, perplexed. Then shrugged dismissively and turned back. "Eh, no idea where that kid goes."

"Troublemaker?"

"You have no idea. Leo would love to prank the Queen of England if he could. Partly why I'm not so keen on visiting England."

Jason chuckled. "I've got a guy like that. Percy. Annoys me to Pluto and back, but his horrifying girlfriend usually keeps in him line for the rest of us."

"Ah, the power of girlfriends," Piper sighed, her eyes twinkling with suppressed mirth. "What's her name?"

"Annabeth. She studies architecture. A scary blonde if there ever was one." Jason visibly shuddered. "As a matter of fact, she keeps us all in line."

"What exactly do you study, Jason?"

"Art history," he replied easily. Piper mimed gagging, and Jason feigned visible offense. "What? It's interesting, okay?"

"Interesting, my ass," Piper scoffed, rolling her eyes. She looked unbearably adorable as she did so, Jason noted usefully. Then mentally chastised himself for doing so. "Art is being abused by being treated as a history topic."

"Art history is a beautiful subject," Jason said firmly. "You're abusing yourself by not taking it."

"Okay, okay, not judging," Piper threw her hands up in surrender, the metal chains around her wrist rattling.

"Not judging, my ass," Jason imitated under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Piper half smiled. Jason felt a swell of uncontained pride expand in him. "Hey, do you know if there's a coffee shop nearby?" He asked suddenly.

"Oh, yeah, there's one right by the exit," she quipped. "It's no Starbucks, but if you're looking to kill time, it's your best shot." She paused. "I should probably start to look around for Leo the Devil too, before this place blows up. Or worse, he end up getting arrested again." She shuddered at the thought.

"I- actually," Jason began quickly before she started to move away. "I was actually hoping I wouldn't have to look like a loner sitting alone on a table waiting for the class." He felt his cheeks heat up while his heart thudded like a drum in his chest. What the hell was this girl doing to him? She was reducing him to a pathetic pile of mush, leaving him trembling like jelly.

Piper herself suddenly looked down, red dusting her high cheekbones. After a moments silence, she suddenly looked back up, a light smirk spreading across her face. "I don't think you have to worry. I'm sure some gorgeous girl will wander up to you sooner or later," she said teasingly.

Jason's eyes widened. If he wasn't mistaken, she was flirting with him. "I guess I'd much rather not have to go through that if there's already some gorgeous competition next to be," he replied smoothly. Two could play at that game.

Full out smiling now, Piper nodded her head, laughing. "Sure, I'll help you not look like a miserable loner."

Jason grinned gratefully.

-oOo-

"Me and my dad never really got along for a long time," Piper said slowly as she stirred her coffee. A heart-wrenching gloominess began to creep into her irises. "He actually just called me a while back, and that was the first time we spoke in years. I left him when I was thirteen- ran away. It wasn't the first time I did, though."

"When was the first time?" Jason asked gently, sipping his own latte. Somehow, amid discussions and laughter over friends and cookies and Starbucks, the conversation had somehow turned to their families. Piper had already intently listened to his ramblings about his alcoholic mother and her death, his workaholic father and the sister who had brought him as the only mother he knew, so now Jason was doing the same for her.

"The first time..." Piper trailed off, her eyes glazing over. "He brought home this woman- some Hollywood star- and, well, this was nothing new ever since mom left, but this time, they weren't quiet enough. I think they were drunk. I was ten." She stared at the wood grains on the table, tracing them gently with her fingertips. Jason's hand, which was settled next to his coffee, twitched, wanting to reach out and cover her tiny hand with his own. The urge was sudden as it was unexpected. But he resisting, not knowing how much she'd be comfortable with. Instead, he tried to portray his care through his solemn gaze.

He stiffened in surprise when she herself reached out, weaving her fingers through his, her grip tight. Squeezing her fingers gently, he waited for her to continue. If she wanted, of course, but he didn't have to tell her that.

"I, uh... I left that night. In the middle. When it got too loud. I went to Leo, and his mother, Esperanza, took me in for a while. Amazing woman, she was. I went back after about four days, hoping that maybe he had noticed and that maybe he felt even the slightest bit guilty and that maybe for once in his goddamn life he cared about how _I_ felt." She broke off, inhaling in a difficult, shuddering breath. Rubbing the smooth, soft skin on the back of her hand with his thumb, Jason gazed at her face patiently, waiting for her breathing to steady.

"Piper, if you don't want..." He began gently. He was already surprised at how much they had opened up to each other. He had only trusted his closest friends with what he had told Piper in the past hour and a half (how large was this gallery?), but somehow, a gut feeling told him he could trust her. They were the only ones in the coffee shop anyway- the high school aged barista was probably too busy sleeping in the back. Jason still didn't want to push her too far, though.

"No, no, it's okay," she assured him thickly, sniffing. She looked back up at him and smiled slightly. "I need to get it all out now. I've never spoken about us like this before. Only Leo knows, and even then, I've never exactly _told_ him all of this, he just… figured it out." She paused for a moment before continuing. "So I went back. And… he hadn't even noticed I wasn't there. His own daughter wasn't in his own house." Silence. "So I left. Permanently, when I was thirteen, as I said. Went to Leo. We've been there for each other ever since. Best friends, you know? More like siblngs. The annoying little brother I never had." Smiling gently, she shook her head. It was obvious she cared for this guy a lot- her affection was so infectious that even Jason was beginning to like him. In spirit, of course, he hadn't even met him yet. "His mother died when we were sixteen, and it just about broke him. Completely shattered the guy. A fire. So I bought him here on holiday with the money from my own piggy bank, and he caught sight of some famous but not so fancy engineering college, so we moved here a while ago."

"Did you study?"

"Yep, somehow got into AAG, but I only studied first year, then left to kind of... Focus on other things."

"Wait, Artistic Academy for the Gifted?" Jason asked, his eyes widening. "I go there!"

Surprised, Pipers eyebrows rose. "Seriously?" Jason nodded. "Well, the history section is on like the other end of the building, so no surprise that we never met."

"Yeah," Jason said, struggling to mask his disappointment. Getting through college would be so much easier with Piper on the same campus. "Ever intending on coming back?"

"I don't know. I mean, I've considered it, but I think I've always done better doing my own thing. I felt restricted in there."

Jason nodded. "So what do you do when you're not at college?"

Eyes widening like a deer caught in the headlights, a look of trepidation suddenly crossed her face. "Uh," she gulped. "You see..."

"OHMYGOD, IS THAT PIPER MCLEAN?" A shrill voice suddenly cried much too loud as the door of the coffee shop burst open.

Her back to the entrance, Piper let her eyes fall shut. Jason saw her mouthing a curse. Footsteps moved closer and closer as confusion overrode him. "Piper, what-?"

"Oh my God, Piper McLean, I am _such_ a huge fan of your work!" The girl gushed, not even noticing Jason. She looked as if she was about to start hyperventilating. But as unexpectedly as it had come, Piper's horror and alarm disappeared to be replaced with a genuine beam. Jason could sense the amusement in her eyes as they shone.

"Thank you," she said, chuckling. "I love you outfit, by the way," she commented, motioning to the young blonde's summery dress. It was covered in red roses. Seemed familiar, somehow...

The girl looked like she was about to faint. "Omg, thank you so much, I can't wait to tell my friends I met you!" She stopped and gazed down at her dress. "You're latest work actually inspired this dress, you know!" Jason wouldn't be surprised if the girl started skipping in place, if that was possible.

"Oh, did it now?" A bit of that light began to fade from Piper's eyes, her tone slightly cautious.

"Oh, yes, I think that's my favourite, it's such a great representation of low self-esteem for me, and the brush strokes are absolutely gorgeous. It's perfect, I love it so much, and what I love most is that I always feel like I'm in the corner of it-"

Piper's eyes, panic now hidden beneath the fake smile on her face, flitted to Jason's expression as realization began to dawn on him. The girl continued to ramble.

"-I think I actually just saw something like that outside on one of the walls but I didn't stop to look, but-" The girl paused, her eyes widening, then gasped. "Oh my God, that's your work, isn't it? The original? I heard it was in New York but I wasn't sure... Oh my God." Beginning to fan herself frantically, she gulped like a fish for air. "I need your autograph right now, like, right now."

Piper laughed, a clear sound, and Jason would have never noticed the dismay and distress laced into her voice if he didn't know her well enough by then. _What an actress_ , he thought. Her lips stretching into a blinding smile which possibly appealed to Jason more than the girl, she nodded. "Have you got a pen I could use?" She asked the girl, who shook her head. Hesitantly, Piper turned to Jason and gave him a tight lipped smile. Wordlessly, Jason dug into his pants pocket to scoop out his blue ballpoint and handed into her. Mumbling a quiet thanks, she scribbled her first name onto the napkin the girl handed to her.

"Here you go," she finished, smiling, handing the napkin to her.

"Thank you, honestly, so much!" Beaming, the girl ran out of the shop, the napkin clutched tightly in her hand.

The silence in the coffee shop was expected, but took them both aback nonetheless. Piper refused to meet his eyes. He himself was a jumble of emotions and feelings and thoughts, all riling up inside him. He wasn't exactly sure, didn't exactly know how he felt: betrayed and lied to, of course, she had lied to him, but then again, he didn't exactly blame her. Still, he felt slight anger boiling away in him.

"So It's… yours?"

She looked up from her fingers, teasing her thick bottom lip with her teeth. "I'm really, really sorry, Jason. I never wanted to lie, I swear, but I just-"

"And God, no wonder you're such a great actress. Your father is Tristan McLean, isn't he?" Jason's mouth fell open in awe as the thought struck him. "I knew you looked familiar, and to think, I-"

Piper abruptly motioned with her hand for him to stop. Jason's words stopped midway. She took a deep breath. "Look, I'm really, really sorry I lied. I just didn't want you to treat me like, you know, that." She gestured to the door which the young fan had just run out of. "That's why I took a gap year. For art. That's what I do. And-"

Suddenly, they both jumped in shock as someone banged on the glass window next to their coffee table. Jason peered outside to see an impish man- no, more like boy- with a slim and scrawny build, wild, unruly, curly hair and an elf-like face. He banged on the glass again impatiently, waving at the two of them and smiling cheerfully when Piper scowled. Jason's gaze shifted past the man- Leo, he assumed- to a group near the exit, and recognized his art history professor. He caught sight of Jason staring at him when his eyes scanned the room, searching for stray students, and motioned dramatically for Jason to hurry and join them.

Eyes widening at the idea of getting into trouble for spending time with someone instead of observing the art work, Jason pushed back from the table. "I have to go-"

"Jason, wait-" Piper began desperately. "Please-"

"Piper, I have to go, sorry," he stumbled over his words, and casting her panicked face one last look, her lips parted, her eyes blown wide with despair, he stumbled out of the coffee shop to where his class waited, all, including Mr. Ashton, too absorbed in their own talk to pay him anymore notice, thankfully.

"Hey, man, wait!" He heard a voice behind him. Leo.

"Jason!" Her grip was strong, and he slowed down. She jumped into his vision, he front of him, grabbing his arms. "Jason, wait, please." She stopped, breathing hard, and tightened her grip on his arms as if expecting him to try to escape. But he didn't, and waited to hear her out. Partly because he just couldn't leave her, not after all the trust that has accumulated between them, a tower of blocks constantly growing and growing, almost tipping over. Unstable. And also because she looked absolutely dazzling at the moment.

God, he was never gonna make it in life.

"I- I'm sorry," she said again. Her voice was low, but laced with desperation and intensely genuine. "Really, I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. Then you would treat me like an artist, and that's not only who I am. I like you, okay? Really. I'm sorry, I am, but you just made me feel so happy for a while and I didn't want to ruin it and-" She abruptly broke off, because suddenly, Jason had erratically surged forward, grabbing her face in his hands and pressing his lips to hers. Catching her by such surprise that she almost stumbled, he muffled the rest of her frantic words. Her lips were warm and soft against his as all other sound around them dissipated, unmoving at first, but then slowly responding.

He broke away first, still clutching her face in his hands. Her hands were clutching his shirt tightly, as if he would choose that moment to suddenly run off. Granted, he might have. Their breaths mingled, their lips still close, almost brushing against each other. Then her lips broke into that gorgeous smile and she laughed quietly, delightedly, a beautiful sound. Reaching up with one hand, she gingerly pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"Sorry," Jason whispered. "I had to do that."

Her eyes moved up from gazing at his lips to meeting his half lidded eyes as they stared down at her. She was short, compared to him. At least eight inches shorter. It was adorable.

"So I guess secretly slipping that slip of paper with my number into your back pocket didn't make much of a difference, then?" She grinned mischievously.

Jason's hands immediately reached into his pocket, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. "How...?"

"Skills I picked up from Leo," she responded easily. "Told you he gets into trouble a lot."

Jason chuckled. "Great use of them, Pipes." She smiled at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

"Well, that was unexpected."

Jason pulled away to spin around as Piper slipped her hand easily into his. Leo stood there, the amusement in his eyes barely suppressed. He grinned as Piper rolled her eyes. Grabbing Jason by the collar of his shirt, she spun him back around to meet her eyes. "So I didn't go into all that trouble to put that slip in there just so you could go home and throw it away."

"No, it was to get her hand on your ass!" They both decided to ignore Leo's voice as Piper blushed.

"So use it," she finished.

"Or?" Jason pushed.

"I'll just spend the rest of my days waiting in New York art galleries, waiting for you to show up to admire my work." She smirked, and Jason couldn't resist leaning down to kiss her again.

"Jason Grace!" He pulled away in surprise to see his professor some distance away, glaring at him disapprovingly. Piper laughed in front of him, and stepped back. Waving, she grabbed Leo by the arm, a bit too harsh, judging by Leo's loud yelp (or maybe he was just too dramatic) and casually strolled out of the exit, leaving Jason staring after her.

And yes, he never exactly dreaded going to art galleries ever again, knowing he would have something much better than the same repetitive, depressing and gloomy paintings to distract him.

-oOo-

 **Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know I've been MIA for a while, it's been really tough lately, but I know no one wants to hear my sob stories. :)**

 **I don't know when I'll be able to update** _ **anything**_ **next- hell, I don't even know when I'll be able to** _ **write**_ **again, but I'll just take it slow and try my best. I know some of your summers might be ending right about now or in a while…? So this was just to cheer you up. :) Good luck with school/ college/ wherever else.**

 **Thanks for not sending me death threats. That's all I gotta say.**


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